Page 10 - The Rough Guide of Sicily

of Savoca, near Taormina. Bodies were placed here as late as the nineteenth
century, and the locals used to pay daily visits, often standing in the adjacent niches
to accustom themselves to the idea of the great ever-after.

Where to go

Set in a wide bay at the foot of a fertile valley, the capital, Palermo, is an essential
part of any Sicilian visit, with a vibrant – almost Middle Eastern – flavour and

featuring some of the island’s finest churches, historic treasures, markets and
restaurants. It gets hot and stuffy here in summer, though, which makes escapes out of
the city all the more tempting, above all to the offshore island of Ustica, or to the
extraordinary church mosaics at Monreale. An hour east of Palermo, meanwhile, lies
one of Sicily’s premier resorts, Cefalù, with its own fabulous church mosaics. Cefalù

is also the jumping-off point for the Madonie natural park, whose mountains are the
highest on the island after Etna.

Ferries and hydrofoils depart from Milazzo and Messina to the Aeolians, a stunning
chain of seven volcanic islands – including the famed Stromboli – that attract sun-
worshippers, celebrities and adventurous hikers alike. Otherwise, the northeastern tip

of the island is marked by the bustling city of Messina – crossing-point to mainland
Italy – with the fashionable resort of Taormina to the south, the latter perhaps the
single most popular holiday destination in Sicily. Further south, halfway down the
Ionian coast, dark, Baroque Catania is the island’s second city, dominated entirely by

the graceful cone of Mount Etna, Europe’s largest and most active volcano.

The island’s best concentration of historical and architectural sites is arguably in
Siracusa, where classical ruins and stunning Baroque buildings decorate Sicily’s most
attractive city. In the southeast region beyond, beautiful towns like Noto, Ragusa and
Modica were rebuilt along planned Baroque lines after the devastating 1693

earthquake, though the unique Neolithic cemeteries of Pantalica survived to provide
one of Sicily’s most atmospheric backwaters.

After the richness of the southeast towns, many find the isolated grandeur of the
interior a welcome change. This is the most sparsely populated region, of rolling hills
and craggy mountains, yet it hides gems like the historic stronghold of Enna, the well-

preserved Roman mosaics at Piazza Armerina, the majestic Greek excavations of
Morgantina and the Baroque ceramics town of Caltagirone. Away from these few
interior towns, remote roads wind back and forth, towards Palermo or Catania,
through little-visited destinations like Corleone, whose names chime with the popular
image of Sicily as a nest of Mafia intrigue.